Material handling apparatus



Uct. 19, 1943. A, c:I NYsTRoM ETAL 2,332,005

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June l0. 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N wfl ATTORNEY Oct 19, 1943- A. c. NYsTRoM ETAL 2,332,005

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEY Patented Oct. 19, 1943 UNITED. STATES Zlcs ENT' GFF! CEv 2,332,1'305v MATERML HANDLING APPARATUS Axel C, Nystrom,

Reichelt,- Electric Rutherford, and; Lester Cranford,` N. J., assigne-rs to Western Compa-ny, Incorporated, New York,

N. Y., a corporation of; New York Aeplieation. Juneau, 1941-, saisine. 391,402A

(ci. ata-sier) 10 Claims.

This invention relates to material handling apparatus andv more particularly to apparatus forsupplyi-ng reels of wire for a cable strand-img;l machine.. Y

Stranding machines usedi-nthe process. ot form-ing cables receive a plurali-.tyv of insulated electrical.v conductor wires or pairs of wires from supplyff reels and twist them-l intoV a circular' ropelike cable unit to ben later covered with. a proteetive sheath to form a small' cablefor to, betwistved with similarfcable units to formy ay largercable.V A reel ofvvire to-be suppliedtoa stranding machine is quite: heavy and. dilicult to hand-l'e. other than by rolling. The reel hawevenA be: mounted for rotation. which necessitates. lifting the reelv until. it is thus mounted', in addition to otherreel handling stepsV in the process of. positioning` the reel for mounting. When numerous reels cf. wire are used` foreach strending operation.,V such proceduresaref-greatly"- speci/:ive reels: free of the, tracks; and into rotatablevv positions, other tracks. being. positioned; relative tothe feeding tracks to. receive the. reels when empty and' deliver them successively `to an outlet;

Otherobjects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed4 description when taken-A in conjunction with the acccmpalf-lying` drawings. wherein Fig, 1' is aside elevaticnalveiw of the apparatus;`

Fig. 2` is a fragmentary top( plan vie-vv' of' the apparatus. portions thereof. being shown in section.;

Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional view takenA along. thelne 3f-3of Fig. l.;

Fig. 4 is an `endl elevational View taken substantially along theV line 4 4 of Eig. l;

Fig. 5 isan. enlarged fragmentary top; plan. View of one of the cone-actuated units.y illustrate ing the contoury of the cam-like aperture therein;A

Fig. Gis an enlarged fragmentary detailed View of another cone unit, illustratingthe mounting ofareelthereon.. and

'Z is an enlarged vertical sectional view takersalan-g` the line, 1-..1 of Fig, l-

Rtiulerringl now. tothe drawings, attention is. rst directed. to Figs. l and.2, which illustratethe apparatusas. having, a mai-n frame. indicated generally at.v L0., formed rigidly of. horizontal an,- gle memloers.v ll of. abase portion of theframe.. Vertical. I-loeams [2, or members. of other'formatiorn are. secured to. thehase members. I I. and

support4 at their-upper. ends other. horizontal an.- gie members ld... formingc what. mig-htbe. called. table portions. forv the. mounting of. brackets. l5,

upon which motors If' and cone. units. l'l. are.se.,

cured'. By, viewingl Fig.. 2.,. it will be. observed.

' that. inthe present embodiment thereI are four horizontal'. table members lili. there. being also a. like number ofv base. members.. HL with int posedvertical members l2.

The formation. of the brackets. is illustrated in Fig. 3,` these brackets being. identical in structure. excepting, thatsome might be. termed right-hand brackets and others left-hand'br ackets For. ex.- ample, byviewing. Figs.` 1 and 2` itwill be. ohserved that theY sets of .motors land. their. re.-v

spective cone-units.. l1. are. alternatelyv disposed.

in.. staggered'. relatiOIl. .certain of these being. on brackets [51 mountedunon one pair of, table mem. bers en -the otherfpairL of table members` Mi.

The centralvportions. of the .brackets l5 in.

each.. rowlhave. aligned embossed. portions i9. and.v tracks 2L and. 22., The tracks..V

Ziller supporting 2l .and 2 2 are. mounted .or-1. the. respective embossed portions with suitable spacing memers. 23. and 2.4,. respectively.. ofl varying thicl'messesv (Fig. l). so that the. tracks, their upperY surfaces, will. be. inclined longitudinally from the entrance. or feeding end25.A to an. `exit end 2t. suflicient for the. free. rolling of full reels. or-spools 2.1 to. positionsedgacent their respective motors and conev units...

Attention is again directed to Fig. 3 illustrating the cross-sectional contour and the relative positioning,- of' the tracks. 2l and. 22.V The'track 2l` has. a flat upper surface Zi or this surface Y may.. if desired. be inclined laterally to liev in a planewith, upper surface 29. of the track 2,2, the

latter being positioned angularly and at a slight..- ly lower level than. the surface 2,8, to rcause the reels to ride along the inside or the lowest poll tien. of the track 22 against a guardrail 3.6. This eliminates the necessity of a guard railfr the surface 28 and permits lateral movement of [4., the others ,.being on brackets l5. mounted.`

' extending at an angle from the reels free of the surface 2B when being mounted for rotation.

The means ior mounting the reels for rotation includes the cone units I1 and other cone units, indicated generally at 32, upon motor shafts 33 of the motors i3. Due to the fact that the motors and the cone units are lall identical in structure, a description of the single structure illustrated in Fig. 3 will be considered applicable to all the other structures. In this ligure, assisted by Fig, 6, the cone unit I1 consists mainly of a housing having a cylindrical opening 35 therein in axial alignment with the shaft 33 of its motor I6. A piston-like element 35 is movably disposed in the cylindrical opening 35 and supports a cone member 31 fixed thereto. The means for moving the element 35 consists of a handle 33 having its inner end fixed to the piston member and projecting through an elongate cam-like aperture 39 in the housing portion of the unit, the aperture being of a contour, as illustrated in Fig. 5, to cause axial movement of the piston element and its cone 31 upon movement of the handle 38 therein. The aperture also includes a portion 4i) the center line of the main portion of the aperture to serve as a locking portion to hold the handle 38 in the inner or mounting position. The reels 21 may be of the conventional type, having apertured hub portions 4.3 with rounded outer surfaces. as illustrated at 44, so that the cone 31 may iind its way into the hub without being axially aligned therewith.

Attention is now directed to the cone units 32, which include a cone member 46 movable longitudinally of the motor shaft 33, limited by head portion 41 of the shaft. A connecting element 48 is mounted upon the shaft 33 for rotation therewith and serves as an abutment for one end of a spring 49, the other end of which engages the cone member 4B to normally urge the latter outwardly, to the right, toward the head portion 41. One end of the element 48 includes an integral housing 50 in which a spring pressed plunger 5I is disposed, the plunger being of the contour illustrated in Fig. 6, limited in its outward movement by an annular ilange 52 and adapted to be received in an aperture 54 of the adjacent head of the ree1 21 to serve as a positive connection between the reel and the 'motor to assure driving of the former by the latter. The other end of the element 48 has a portion 55 similar in contour to the housing 5E] but of a solid structure to serve as a counter-balance weight for the housing, these end portions being diametrically opposed.

Returning now to Figs. l and 2, it will be noted that the exit ends of the tracks 2| and 22 are bent arcuately to direct the reels 21, when empty and .freed from their cones 31'and 4B, downwardly to pairs of tracks 5B. The pairs of tracks 58 curve arcuately at their entrance ends, indicated generally at E9. the radii of the tracks at this position being taken from substantially the same centers as the arcs of the tracks 2| and.22 at the exit ends 26, the tracks at this position being supported by side plates 6i. At portions throughout the length of the tracks 58, angle members B2, fixed to the Vertical frame members I2, support the tracks in angular positions soV that the empty reels 21 will roll freely to an outlet indicated generally at 63.

Near the entrance ends of the tracks 58 a braking means is disposed to check the rapid movement of the reels in rolling from the tracks 2l and 22 and down the curved portions of the tracks 53. This means includes a plate 64 extending between the tracks 58 with integral pins E5, extending through apertures (Fig. l) in the tracks to form a somewhat loose pivotal connection between the plate and the tracks. The forward end of the plate S4 is normally urged upwardly by a pair of compression springs G5 positioned in cups i of the tracks 58 land disposed concentric with pins 68 xed to the plate with adjusting nuts threadedly disposed on the lower ends thereof to adjust the normal height of the forward end of the plate. Strips 59 (Figs. l and '7) fixed to plates 15 carried by the frame It! are positioned to be engaged by the peripheries of l the ree1 heads under the force of the springs E5 through the plate E4 to apply a braking force to .each reel entering the tracks 58.

Doors 1I (Figs. 1 and 4) are provided for the outlets of both sets of tracks 58, these doors being hinged at 12 and provided with arms 13 projecting toward their respective outer sides of the frame lil, where latches 14 are provided for engagement therewith to hold the doors in the upper or closed positions. When the doors are in the closed positions the reels on the tracks 53 are held against removal therefrom, this being desirable during the removal of empty reels from the cone members, allowing the empty reels to pass on to the tracks 5? but to retain them in this position until the apparatus is again loaded with full reels, and operating, at which time the operator may give his attent-lon to the empty reels. By opening the doors 'i' the empty reels are free to roll toward and through the outlet the doors serving as runways for the reels as the reels pass from the outlet.

For each reel unit, including the motor IG, the l cone units 21 and 32 and the reel supported therebetween, a roller 15 supported by its respective'bracket l5 guides the strand or wire from its reel to a sheave 16 carried by a tension arm 11, the latter being supported by a tension element 18 from its motor i6 to apply a predetermined tension to the wire. From the sheave 1I the wire passes to a sheave 19 and thence to one of a plurality of sheaves B2 supported by a bracket E- fixed to the end of the frame i3. From these sheaves the wires pass on to a stranding machine not shown.

Upon conditioning the apparatus to feed wires or electrical conductors to a stranding machine, let it be assumed that the apparatus is free'of both full and empty reels. The operator may then load full reels successively on the tracks 2! and 22 of each side of the apparatus. Let it also be assumed that the operator loads full reels on rst one side or the apparatus and then the other. The rst reel placed on the tracks 2l and 22 will roll freely down the tracks, maintaining its position against the guard rail 30 and caused to stop in general alignment with the cones 31 and 45 of the innermost unit. When in this position the reel will be tilted slightly at an angle relative to the axes of the cones 31 and 46 to position the hub 43 adjacent cone 45 Vfor registration therewith. The operator may then move the handle 33 of the respective cone unit l1 from right to left (Fig. 2), during which movement the cam-like aperture 3E! will act on the handle 38 to cause the piston-like element 38 to move inwardly, moving its cone member 31 to a position where it will start to enter the adjacent hub 43. Further movement of the cone 31 acts on the hub of the ree1 to lift the adjacent head of the reel face of its track 22 and move ases-cos the reelaxiallyas well-:as upwardly; freeingbetlr heads; ot. the reel; from their tracks.: 2l? and; at. iorrotation vo1 the reel by the motor,- and." causing mounting of the: reel on, the cones et and tt.. During thi'sfaction of thefnistenflike: element 36. to move itsv cone 3L the; cone; @8f isrcausemby the spring da to-.retain its ene'asementwitlrits lui-bl es but allowed to, move on the Ashaftth vThe plunger 5i.. of the element: lia' may' or may not. register-'With the: aperture 55st o the vreel the mounting of the reel on the conesbut, dur;- ingV the rst: revolution or the; meter: ia the plunger,- wi-ll; be brought into regi'stratinn with its aperture to,A brine: aboutthe positive; connection; for thefrotatiozr of, the reel', withithe motor. Eurthermoreg, the' operator' may Ifo-tate.: the; reel-'oir the cones; thei necessary distance to align the aperture 54; with' the:l plunger at: during the: mounting; of' thereeli.. The other'reels aremeunted in a similar' manner thel wire from each; reel is threaded' over its respective roiler 76,. and, sheaves lrlf, 'M andi f5.5, tny the,t stranding, appa.- ratus. Thev apparatusI is; ther-rin-` conditionfcr operatien, the motors: iii being included in. an electrical, circuit to: operate im synoirronismi with: the stranding machine-to the Wires; from the reels at thespeed desired. .Ifthei reels; contain thersameamoun-t-oi wirer itv is; apparent that the reels; wi-ll become` empty` at the-'same Therefore, the stranding machinermay be stopped, f

and the motor Hi,- may'be; deenergized.r sov that the;- apparatus; may again be conditioned, fior opera.- tien.vv requires, however; thatY thek empty' reelsV be: removed andi full: reeisf again mounted,

between their respective: cones;

The apparatus is freed of, its empty reels in very simple mannen; requiring that the operator merely actua-te the handles 38. It is recommended, however, that the handles 38 be actuated in successive order beginning with the position nearest the exit end 2E. In this manner the removal of the cone 3i from each reel frees the spring 49 associated therewith to move its reel by the movement of the respective cone 455, so that the reel will again come to rest on the tracks 2l and 22 and be allowed to roll thereon, controlled by the guard rail 33 until its reaches its exit end 26, at which time the reel will drop onto the tracks 53 and there the angular or sloping positions of the tracks will cause the reel to move toward the outlets 64, stopped by its door 6B or the reel preceding it. The speed of movement of each reel in entering the tracks 58 is reduced through the combination of the spring pressed plate t'and brake strips 69, the latter being of suitable structure such as conventional brake lining material. This braking force eliminates damage to the reels by eliminating their rapid movement into engagement with each other.

Although the tracks 2 l-22 and 58 are separate, their combined functions provide a continuous route for the reels from the entrance end 25 to the outlet 53. The empty reels on each side of the apparatus may be successively released in but a few seconds and they will travel unassisted to the lower tracks, making way for more full reels` Full reels may again be mounted in the apparatus, after which the empty reels may be allowed to pass from the lower tracks aided by the doors ll, after the latter have been moved into open position.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is merely illustrative and may be widely modified and departed from in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention aspcinted out in and limited selely bythezappended claims.,

Whatrisfclaimedisz; Y

1.7In; a material handling apparatus, a plu-- rality oli units to rotatably suppart, reels-,a` set of feeding tracks disposed adjacent the uni-ts and inclined' from a reedingend tuV anV exi-tl end' to; causeY the reels; tn. roll to positians; adjacent. the. units, the: uni-ts;Y including means' to.; singly move the reels. tree of the'` tracks iurl rotatien, another set cf` tracks, dispcscdbeneath the.v feeding-i tracks and formed to: receive the reels from the exfit endo, feeding tracks,l and. braking means. to'check the reels entering. the. lower set or tracks.

2; In a` material, handling apparatus, a plurality @f unitsz having reel engaging elemerrtsrotatable about their: respeetive'- axis, mea-ns toi sup.- pori/theV units with: the axes oli the elements4 lying inza cominonginclinedplane, atraok disposed? adijacent. the units parallel-with the` said plane to etect 1"..ol1lingiY of the reels thereon' topnsitions ad'- jacent the; respective; units where reelsA may be supported bythe said elements;` andi means. to causeV relativemovement' of the elements off' theA units taV cause the elements. to rotatably support their respectiveV reels.

3. In a material handling apparatus, a. plurality of units having reel engaging elements rotatable about their respective'axis, means. to support the unitswithA the axes-of the-elements lying in acommon inclinedpl'ane, tracks. disposed adjacent the unitsA substantially parallel with the said plane and extending Vfrom feeding position-s to exit positions to cause reels', fed thereto atthe feedingY position-s, to. roll ythereon relative to the units to respective positions thereadjacent, andi means; to cause relative mavement. o the elements of the units: to` cause. the elements.V to. rotatably support their respective reels.

4. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements rotatable about their respective axis, means to support the units with the axes of the elements lying in a common inclined plane, tracks disposed adjacent the units substantially parallel with the said plane and extending from feeding positions to exit positions to cause reels, fed thereto at the feeding positions, to roll thereon relative to the units to respective positions thereadjacent, means to cause relative movement of the elements of the units to cause the elements to rotatably support their respective reels, and other tracks, extending from positions adjacent the said exit positions to an outlet, to receive the reels from the rst mentioned tracks and direct the reels to the outlet.

5. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements rotatable about their respective axis, means to support the units with the axes of the elements lying in a common inclined plane, means to cause relative movement of the elements of each unit to rotatably support a reel therebetween and to free the reel, and tracks disposed adjacent the units substantially parallel with the said plane to cause the reels, when disposed thereon,

Yto roll to their respective units and to cause the reels to roll from their units when free therefrom.

6. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements rotatable about their respective axis, means to support the units with the axes of the elements lying in a common inclined plane, means to cause relative movement of the elements of each unit to rotatably support a reel therebetween and to lree the reel, tracks disposed adjacent the units substantially parallel with the said plane to cause the reels, when disposed thereon, to roll to their respective units and to cause the reels to roll from their units when free therefrom, other tracks positioned to receive the reels from the rst tracks and having outlet ends, and a door to close the outlet ends of the last mentioned tracks to the rolling of the reels thereon.

7. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements rotatable about their respective axis, means to support the units with the axes of the elements lying in a common inclined plane, means to cause relative movement of the elements of each unit to rotatably support a reel therebetween and to free the reel, tracks disposed adjacent the units substantially parallel with the said piane to cause the reels, when disposed thereon, to roll to their respective units and to cause the reels to roll from their units whenY free therefrom, other tracks positioned to receive the reels from the rst tracks and having outlet ends, and a door to close the outlet ends of the last mentioned tracks when in a closed position and to serve as a runway for the reels leaving the tracks when in an open position.

8. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements rotatable about their respective axis, means to support the units with the axes of the elements lying in a common inclined plane, tracks disposed adjacent the units substantially parallel with the said plane and extending from feeding positions to exit positions to cause reels, fed thereto at the feeding positions, to roll thereon relative to the units to respective positions thereadjacent,

means to cause relative movement of the elements of the units to cause the elements to rotatably support their respective reels, other tracks, extending from positions adjacent the said exit positions to an outlet adjacent the feeding positions, to receive the reels from the rst mentioned tracks and direct the reels to the outlet, and a door movable into closed position to close the outlet and movable into an open position to free the reels to roll on the door from the outlet.

9. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements, inclined tracks disposed at different levels for free rolling of the reels thereon relative to the units, a guide rail for one of the tracks for the rolling of the reels thereagainst to accurately position the reels between the elements of their units, and means for each unit movable into an operative position to cause relative movement of the elements thereof to cause the respective reel to move laterally free of the rail and tracks.

10. In a material handling apparatus, a plurality of units having reel engaging elements, inclined tracks disposed at diierent levels for free rolling of the reels thereon relative to the units, a guide rail for one of the tracks for the rolling of the reels thereagainst to accurately position the reels between the elements of their units, and means for each unit movable into an operative position to cause relative movement of the elements thereof to cause the respective reel to move laterally free of the rail and tracks and to cause the elements to return their respective reel laterally onto the tracks and against the rail when moved into an inoperative position.

AXEL C. NYSTROM. LESTER O. REICHELT. 

